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September 2014

September 24, 2014

Last week I wrote about the negative impact that negative employees have on both customers and results, so it is only fitting that this week I focus on the positive impact of happy employees.

Let me ask, have you ever received amazingly good service from an unhappy waitperson? Probably not. Ever been WOW'd by a bored salesperson? I doubt it. That's why the environment you create for your employees directly impacts the customer experience, the employee experience and, ultimately, store results. You're not going to have happy customers unless you first have happy employees.

Here are six key factors to a happy retail work environment:

1. The leader's attitude. You don't often see a miserable staff with a happy leader. Most of the time the leader's attitude and that of the staff go hand in hand. When everything is going well it’s pretty easy for a leader to have a good attitude. When things aren’t going well at work or home, it’s not so easy.

I always tell the managers, owners, and executives I work with to check their problems at the door, keep their personal issues to themselves, and maintain a positive attitude. No matter what’s going on, it will soon pass. Even if it doesn’t, you don’t need an underperforming store or business to go along with it.

2. A leader who cares - and shows it. If a business owner or manager doesn't care about his/her employees, why on earth will the employees care about customers? Engage your employees. Be interested and involved in their growth and development. Help them be better at their jobs. Caring is an action, not just a thought.

3. Praise and recognition. Employees who feel appreciated demonstrate that appreciation in how they treat customers. Taking time to regularly praise and recognize individuals for their contributions and efforts goes a long way toward creating a happy workplace. I meet a lot of leaders who think they give plenty of praise and recognition, but their staffs wouldn’t necessarily agree.

4. Take Five meetings every day. Take Five meetings, or huddles as some people call them, are essential to creating a happy workplace. They ensure regular communication, give you an opportunity to praise and recognize, and help everyone get focused for the day. Regular communication and feeling informed definitely contributes to an employee's happiness. I can never stress enough the positive impact of investing a few minutes a day in a Take Five with your staff. If you don’t do them, start.

6. No drama allowed. Gossip and unresolved conflict, better known as drama, directly impacts the staff attitude and impact on results. You may remember that back in early April I wrote an article on creating a drama-free store.

I’m not saying drama is an issue in your business, but the article and accompanying sign to use in the store was downloaded over 1,000 times in the first day. Okay, maybe drama is a bit of a problem. It’s vital that a staff be drama-free in order to be happy and successful. You can read the entire article and download the sign here. You can also read how to eliminate current drama in this article.

So let me ask, in which of these six areas are you strongest? In which can you most improve? What actions can you take today to create an even happier workplace?

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Doug Fleener, a proven retail and customer experience expert and consultant, helps companies dramatically improve their customer experience and their sales results. Visit the Dynamic Experiences Group website, or call Doug at 866-535-6331 to discuss how he can help you create extraordinary results.

September 17, 2014

I suspect we can all agree that positive people have a positive impact on customers and results. So why aren’t we also assuming that employees with a negative attitude will have a negative impact on customers and results?

I have a client whose business was on a roll this summer, and then all of sudden took a dive. At first she thought it was traffic or the local economy, but as she poked around she discovered that one of her employees was very negative when the boss wasn’t in the store.

The owner made a change, hiring a positive, upbeat person in place of the negative person. Sales went up over 30%. A negative employee was killing her business. Not hurting it. Killing it!

Why are employees negative?

The number reason is because they’re allowed to be. We’re accepting the behavior. We don’t require them to stop acting the way they do.

Why do we accept negative behavior? There are a host of reasons. I’d say the number one reason is that an owner or manager hates confrontation. Who doesn’t? Okay, some people do, but most of us don’t.

Even if you’re someone who will go to great lengths to avoid confrontations, you have to ask yourself this: Which is worse, lost sales or a confrontation? As far as I’m concerned that’s a pretty easy question to answer. I wouldn’t let a negative person kill my sales.

Another reason we accept negativity is because we hate having to find, hire, and train new people. I totally get that. At the same time, though, you have to remember how much that negative person with the negative attitude is costing you in sales. The effort you put into replacing that negativity will easily pay for itself, and then some.

There are other reasons we accept people being negative and I’ve heard them all.

They’re good salespeople. Yes, but they would sell a lot more if they weren’t negative.

He’s a good person. I’m sure he is, but imagine how much better he’d be if he knocked off the negativity!

She has a lot of problems. Okay, but it still isn’t okay to create more problems at work.

I firmly believe that you must take hard and swift action with negative people. They either turn it around immediately or they’re gone. They don’t need weeks or months to change their behaviors and actions. They don’t need training. They need to quit acting they way they are currently acting. Period.

The good news is that most people will change when confronted. Some people will even be surprised they’re perceived as being negative.

Every now and then you get someone who either won’t or can’t change. Don’t wait them out. You give a final warning, and then they’re gone.

Retail is challenging enough without a negative person on the staff who is directly, and negatively, impacting business. You and the rest of your amazing team deserve better.

So let me ask, do you have a negative person that is hurting your business? If not, congratulations. I hope it stays that way. If you do, what actions will you take this week to turn them around or move them on?

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Doug Fleener, a proven retail and customer experience expert and consultant, helps companies dramatically improve their customer experience and their sales results. Visit the Dynamic Experiences Group website, or call Doug at 866-535-6331 to discuss how he can help you create extraordinary results.

September 10, 2014

When I’m out shopping I typically encounter four different types of specialty retail associates.

The Gawkers. A Gawker is defined in the dictionary as "a spectator who stares stupidly without intelligent awareness." That may sound harsh, but if I'm out to spend money and a retail employee doesn't even acknowledge my existence, I'd say the definition fits. I'm sure that if you're a reader of this newsletter you don't have any Gawkers on your team.

The Stalkers. Stalkers barely engage you when you come into their store or department, but follow you around hoping you’ll have a question or need. They're the human equivalent of an algae eater trying to suck up any easy business. The only value stalkers add to a customer's experience is getting something from the backroom, or removing any algae from your backside. As a customer I like Gawkers more than Stalkers - as long as they can ring up my purchase.

The Talkers. Talkers are very pleasant sales people and are some of the friendliest people you'll meet in retail. Talkers love to engage customers and they usually deliver a good experience. Talkers are great at answering customer questions, but rarely ask any of their own. Most Talkers love to talk about the company or the products, but without much of a sales focus they miss a fair number of sales opportunities.

The Rockers. Rockers are my favorite retail associates. They just plain rock the experience and turn up the sales volume. One store that has Rockers is my local Delia's, a retailer that targets girls and young women between the ages of 12 and 19. The young women in this store just rock!

They always welcome their customers and they also engage the non-buyers in the group. (That means dad.) They aren't at all pushy but they are assertive about moving their customer to the dressing room to try clothes on. Think about that. "Assertive" means making an all-out effort to win or succeed. "Pushy" is obnoxious. We should always be assertive without being pushy.

What I especially like about the Rockers at Delia's is that even though they have a young customer they are consultative sales associates. They give feedback on fit, style, and are extremely active in the dressing room. They're always running out to grab another size or another style for customer. That's not only great service, that's creating the sale.

Every time I go in that store with my daughters I happily leave money behind. There aren't many stores I can say that about, but then again there aren't a lot of stores that employ so many Rockers.

So let me ask, how many Gawkers, Stalkers, Talkers, and Rockers do you have on your team?

You can also create more Rockers by teaching your team to play these three simple chords:

Doug Fleener, a proven retail and customer experience expert and consultant, helps companies dramatically improve their customer experience and their sales results. Visit the Dynamic Experiences Group website, or call Doug at 866-535-6331 to discuss how he can help you create extraordinary results.

September 02, 2014

For many people, the biggest impediment to success is their own self. Sometimes we simply need to get out of our own way with a new mindset. I know I do from time to time, and so do many of the owners and executives with whom I work.

Here are some new mindsets that may or may not apply to you. Only you know. As I like to remind people when I give them something to think about… take what you want and leave the rest!

1. Quit making excuses for people. I know they're nice people, but if they're not doing what you need them to do then you need to move them either up or out. Here's a simple test. If you replaced that person with someone else would you get more from the position? If yes, get them up or out. If no, quit worrying about it.

2. Never use being slow as an excuse for not making goal. The advantage of being slow is that you and your staff can spend more quality time with every customer. That quality time can easily translate into an even better customer experience, and that will almost always result in more sales.

3. Assume something is possible until proven otherwise. One of my clients is extremely successful in large part because he always believes that something is possible. When others say why something can't be done, he tells them why it can. The key is that he takes action. Which is a perfect segue to....

4. Take action. I used to think that successful people were smarter or luckier than less successful people. I'm now convinced that neither is the case, but that more successful people are simply more likely to take action. Don't talk about what you want to change or do, just do it. Don’t wait for success. Create it!

5. Stop doubting yourself. The most successful people I know are extremely confident, with just the right amount of humility. They know what they know, and they know what they don't. Most people I work with know a lot more than they think they do, but they don't trust in themselves enough. I know this because I learn so much from them.

6. Get to the point. Too much background information not only dilutes your message, but the person you're talking to is more likely to check out. If you think you might talk a bit too much, you talk too much. I have a client who made a conscious effort to change this about himself, and he’s convinced his people are happier and more productive as a result.

7. Stop wasting time. Maybe a better way to say it is to start using your time more wisely. One thing we can all agree upon is there isn't enough time in the day to do what we need to do. Short of inventing a time machine that's not going to change, so the key is to spend our time on high-impact activities.

8. Invest in your own development. Successful people not only believe they can better, but take action to get there. Take a program. Hire a coach. Read more. Do something to be better this year than you were last. The best part is that investing in your own development almost always results in your people - and your business - improving, too.

So let me ask, are you by chance getting in your own way? Do you need a new mindset? What can you do today to step aside and create more success? I know one thing for sure: you deserve all the success that you create.

- Doug

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Doug Fleener, a proven retail and customer experience expert and consultant, helps companies dramatically improve their customer experience and their sales results. Visit the Dynamic Experiences Group website, or call Doug at 866-535-6331 to discuss how he can help you create extraordinary results.